U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie, the CENTCOM commander, spoke with journalists on Monday following the withdrawal of the last remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
During the press conference, McKenzie insisted that the U.S. military was ready to evacuate people right up until the final plane took off. However, according to veteran war correspondent Lara Logan, new photographic evidence suggests that the general wasn’t telling the truth.
“We maintained the ability to bring them in up until immediately before departure, but we were not able to bring any Americans out,” a transcript published by the Department of Defense quoted McKenzie as saying.
“That activity ended probably about 12 hours before our exit, although we continue the outreach and would have been prepared to bring them on until the very last minute,” he continued.
Photo says otherwise
“But none of them made it to the airport, and were able to be — and were able to be accommodated,” the general and Central Command chief concluded.
Yet despite McKenzie’s claim, Fox Nation host Lara Logan tweeted a picture that appeared to show a gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport as having already been sealed off before nightfall. Logan noted that a crowd of people could be seen waiting outside of the airport gates, casting doubt on McKenzie’s assertion that no one “made it to the airport.”
At the gates of the airport waiting for them to open as promised. Yet US mil ldrs(?) say “no one made it there”. Was that part of the Taliban deal: we’ll funnel them to you w false promises, you make it imposs to pass & no more images of desperate Afghans flooding the runway, pic.twitter.com/vGf9B3NNQM
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) August 31, 2021
She also retweeted an Afghan man who said, “The US Embassy in Kabul send us an entry Pass for the HKIA (Hamid Karzai International Airport) but even after showing them their own email and pass they never lets us go inside.”
“I wonder why the US embassy sent entry pass,” he added, speculating, “Perhaps the aim was to gather people after airport gates!”
Friends left behind
In addition to leaving a still unknown number of American citizens behind, the Biden administration reportedly also abandoned many Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces for the past 20 years.
According to The Wall Street Journal, those left behind include one individual who helped rescue Biden in 2008 when a helicopter he was traveling in was forced to make an emergency landing a remote part of Afghanistan.
“Hello Mr. President: Save me and my family,” the man, who was only identified as “Mohammed,” said to the media oulet. “Don’t forget me here.”
The post Journalist suggests Gen. McKenzie lied about last-minute evacuation availability first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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